Automatic car-dumper.



` fv. c. CALHOUN;

AUTOMATIC GAR BUMPER.

, APPLICATION FILED JAN. 3,1910. 978,844, Patented Dec. 20, 191'0.

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V. G. CALHOUN.

AUToMATIo GAB. BUMPER.

APPLIOATIQN FILED IAN. 3,1910.

,Patented De@.'20,1910.

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WMe/aow' VAN C. CALHOUN, OF PARIS, ARKANSAS.

AUTOMATIC CAR-BUMPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 20, 1910.

Application filed January 3, 1910. Serial No. 535,989.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VAN C. CALI-roux, a citizen of the United States,residing at Paris, in the county of Logan, State of Arkansas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Car-Dumpers;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

l This invention relates to devices for dumping cars, more particularlyto devices of this character employed in connection with coal miningoperations and in similar localities, and has for one of its objects toprovide a simply constructed device whereby the labor incident tohandling the cars is lessened and the cost of constructioncorrespondingly lessened.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simply constructeddevice which is automatic in its operation both as to the dumping of thecar and the returning of the empty car to its former position.

lith these and other objects in view, the invention consists incertainnovel features of construction as hereinafter shown and described andthen specifically pointed out in the claim; and, in the drawingsillustrative of the preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure 1 is asectional side elevation ofV the improved device, Fig. 2 is an endelevation of the same, Fig. 3 is a plan view with the frame work insection on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Theimproved device is designed for use more particularly .in connectionwith coal mining operations, but may be employed in any locality whereit is required to dump coal or like material from cars, and comprises ingeneral a supporting frame work 10 Vhaving a railway track locatedthereon, the track being arranged with the or portion thereof inclinedin one direction, a section of the maj or portion of the track beingrepresented at 11 and with the minor portion of the track slightlyinclined in the opposite direction, as shown at 12. .The section 12 issomewhat longer than the car which` is employed upon the improveddevice, the object to be hereinafter explained. The frame work 10 withits tracks 11-12 is arranged to terminate at the point where the carsare to be dumped,

` and the frame work 10 is provided at theterminal of the tracks with anextension frame 13 with the receiving chute 14 supported from theextension frame, as shown.

Mounted for rotation upon the extension frame 13 is a rock shaft 15, andsupported upon this rock shaft is a tilting frame 16, the tilting framebeing provided with a section of railway track 17 with the terminals ofthe rails upturned at one end as shown at 18 to form stops for thewheels of the car. Any suitable form of dump car may be employed, butfor the purpose of illustration a conventional car is represented at 19and provided with the usual flanged carrier wheels 20. The shaft 15 isso located that thek frame 16 is supported thereon intermediate the endsthereof and nearest to one end, so that the major portion of the frameis located in advance of the shaft.

The lframe 13 is extended as shown at 21 above the line of thecar 19 andis provided with two cable sheaves 22 at opposite sides of the tiltingframe 16, and over these sheaves cables 23 are arranged to operate. Eachof the cables is connected as represented at 24 to the tilting frame 16and provided with counter-weights 25 at the opposite ends. Thecounter-weights thus exert their force to maintain the tilting frame 16in its elevated position as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, and will besullicient to overcome the inertia of the empty car, but will beovercome by the weight of the car when loaded, as hereinafter explained.

lThe frame 13 is provided with a stop timber 26 upon which the shorterend of the tilting frame 16 rests when in its elevated position, asshown in full lines in Fig. 1. The frame 16 is so constructed andarranged that the rails 17 will be in longitudinal alinement with therail sections 12 when the frame 16 is in position to receive the car 19.

The weights 25 will'thus be suflicient to rance of the shaft and theweight of the loaded cail will be sufficient to overcome the inertia ofthe weights and cause the frame 1G to be tilted downwardly and dischargethe load of the car into the chute 14.

As soon as the load is discharged from the car the weights will besutlicient to restore the frame 1G to its upward position and alsoreturn the car 19 to its upward position, with the rails 17 inclinedtoward the rails 12 so that. the car will immediately run down theinclined rails 17-12 until the rear wheel 2() reaches the beginning ofthe rail 11 up which they will run for a short distance and then if notdisturbed will settle back with one of the wheels located in the pocketor hollow between the rails 11-12. The 'ails 12 will be greater than thelength of the car`r so that when the car thus runs down upon the rails12 a sufficient space will be left for the operator to mount the framework 10 and thus be in position to push t-he ar up the inclined portion11, or to attach the pulling mechanism if power is employed foraccomplishing this result. The double inclined arrangement of the tracks11%12 coacting with the inclined track portion 17 is thus an importantfeature of the improved device and adds materially to its eliiciency andutility as the inclining of the tracks renders the operation entirely`automatic. The cars are thus caused to be automatically dumped and thecars returned to position upon the frame work 10.

Vhat is claimed is:-

A car dumping apparatus comprising continuous supporting rails havingthe major portion thereofI inclined in one direction and the minorportion inclined in the opposite direction, a frame supported fortilting with the support located rearwardly of the center of the frame7tracks carried by said tilting frame and normally in alinement with theminor inclined rail portions and with stops at their forward ends,weights connected to said .fra me at its forward end and operating tomaintain said platform yieldably in its upper position, and a car havingbearing wheels spaced apart and movable over said rails, the stops ofsaid tilting frame rails being'so arranged that when the car is locatedupon said tilting frame rails the major portion thereof will be disposedin advance of the supporting point of the tilting trame, to cause thecar to be automatically dumped and the empty car returned to its upperposition to run down the tilting frame track and upon the minor portionof the inclined rails.

In testimony whereof, I aliix my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

VAN C. CALHOUN. lVitnesses ARLESS A. BLAIR, Orni R. CARTER.

